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UPDATE: Hear water justice activists at the ‘Shout Out’ public forum, June 1 in Vancouver

Be sure to attend the ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice’ public forum on Friday June 1 at 7 pm at the Maritime Labour Centre (1880 Triumph Street) in Vancouver.

The evening – which will inform us about the threats posed by Vancouver-based mining companies to the human right to water in the Americas and what we can do to work in solidarity with impacted communities and build a movement to defend water justice – will include:

Rueben George, Sundance Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, who will offer a Welcome and Blessing. His Nation’s traditional territory includes the City of Vancouver.

Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians. She has fought for the recognition of the human right to water and against abusive corporate power for years. Last September she was in Guatemala and witnessed the Goldcorp Marlin mine, which has produced huge lagoons of poisoned water.

Sundance chief Rueben George Maude Barlow Rodolfo Arteaga Chief Marilyn Baptiste Mark Berube

Rodolfo Arteaga of the Comité Regional Ambientalista in Valle de Siria, Honduras. He is raising his voice against Goldcorp’s San Martin mine which polluted the water in his community with heavy metals. That mine is now closed but it is feared it could re-open as an even bigger mine.

Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Tsilhqot’in National Government. She is fighting against Taseko Mines Ltd. and its plan to operate a gold-copper mine near Williams Lake that would destroy Little Fish Lake and Fish Creek and endanger Fish Lake/ Teztan Biny.

Leovigildo Vásquez Sánchez of the Coordinadora de Pueblos Unidos del Valle de Ocotlan in México. He is opposing the Fortuna Silver mine in his community because of the threat it poses to local water sources. His brother Bernardo, also an opponent of the mine, was murdered in an ambush this past March. Leovigildo’s brother Arturo was also wounded in that attack.

And Mark Berube, a well-known singer-songwriter, whose commitment to social justice was formed during his childhood living near South Africa under apartheid.

Admission to the Friday night forum is a $20 donation (or what you can afford) and pre-registration is requested. To register for what will undobutedly be an important and memorable event, please go to http://canadians.org/water/issues/mining/shoutout/registration.html.